Efforts on to stop exodus of rural workforce: Bahuguna

Claiming that Uttarakhand is fast recovering from the effects of the June deluge, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today said efforts are underway to prevent the exodus of rural workforce from remote hill areas of the state.
"Our efforts are directed towards pulling Uttarakhand out of the devastation caused by the calamity and thankfully the state is fast emerging from its effects. We are also trying to prevent migration of people from affected areas in their quest for a livelihood," Bahuguna told a gathering in Bageshwar, where he laid the foundation stone of development projects worth Rs 27 crore.
Efforts are on to generate job opportunities in the rural areas so that the young populace do not feel the need to go elsewhere in search of livelihood, he said.

A proposal worth Rs 250 crore to boost tourism around the Tehri lake has been forwarded to the Centre which is likely to be approved soon, he said.
Power is being purchased from outside to tide over the shortage of electricity in the rural areas. He said many hydel power projects were hit by the June deluge bringing production to a halt, but assured they would soon be operationalised.
Though admitting that the natural disaster was a major hurdle on the path of development, the Chief Minister said efficiency of some officials had paced up rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts.

So far compensation cheques worth Rs 300 crore have been distributed among the flash flood-hit people and in certain cases the affected have been helped even by going beyond the rehabilitation norms set by the Centre, he said.

Rs 7 lakh are being given to people who have been rendered homeless by the disaster, he said.
Earlier, Bahuguna laid the foundation stones of five infrastructure development projects worth Rs 27 crore, including the 15.17 km Bageshwar-Dafot motor road.